Renegade Glory
by Red Constance
Summary: Their love was beautiful and pure, but sometimes young love isn't meant to last. Sometimes, darkness consumes every moment of the future, and love that promised so much ends up being the instrument of destruction. Emma Singer and Sam Winchester never could have guessed where their teenage romance would take them in the years that came. AU. A bit of pre-series.
1. The Strays

A/N: Hello and welcome back to the fictional world I seem to spend my life in. This is infact a rewrite of a rewrite that I personally believes surpasses my original (for Emma, All Those Years Ago), considering it's actually plotted out and isn't a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey poorly placed flashbacky… stuff. (But I will let you decide on that for yourselves). The first chapter is going to jump a bit from 'present' to past then it'll be all wee!chester and teen!chester for 15 or so chapters- what i'm trying to say is that it'll be continuous! I know many of you have come to love Emma just as I have, I hope you will fall in love with her all over again. Also, I feel that I should inform you that it is certainly going to be AU. Be prepared for a wave of feels. We start out happy but… it's Supernatural you guys… I mean come'on. Ship wisley. and Don't be afraid to ask questions and review. Also, I've made a tumblr. redconstance.. tumblr.. com! There are gifs, and edits, and manips and things (i can't resist a lot of random text posts). Oh! and lastly, this first chapter is going to be on the shorter side, but they are going to get much longer.

**Co- written by: River Winters**

* * *

_Renegade Glory_

_Chapter One_

_The Strays_

* * *

July 13th, 2006

"_You left_" Sam bellowed, feeling everything that had built up the last few days just boiling over. Emma's arms crossed over her chest and she bit her bottom lip, never in her life had she been frightened by Sam until right now. He was pissed- and rightfully so. "I spent a year searching the country for you, I abandoned school _to look for you_." Sam's face was reddening as he stepped closer to the blonde with the new bangs and the small diamond ring he'd given her still on her left ring finger. Tears began to swell in Sam's eyes as he looked her over- she couldn't even meet his gaze and she'd never felt so small. "Em- I- I thought you were **dead**- I didn't know if I would find you or your body." Sam cried, his voice still raised. "And all this time, you were with my dad?"

Emma finally made eye contact, and Sam looked like a kicked puppy. "I had to go." She trembled and closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm_ sorry_, Sam." She stressed. "_I am so sorry_." And she finally broke, nearly a year later her heart and stomach dropped, she felt dizzy and guilty and it dawned on her she would never be able to fix what she had condemned.

It took all he had in him, but he didn't reach out for her as she shook and began to fall to the ground. "Four days!" Sam added as Emma shook her head muttering '_don't_' under her breath and grasping her locket close to her chest. "You should have come to me! I could have protected you!" He shouted. "Y- you didn't have to run." Sam heard the broken sobbing coming from her hunched over form and he felt sick, but he hadn't said anything he didn't mean and he wouldn't take it back. "Fuck." He cursed before kneeling down to her, he ran his thumb over the top of her hand and cupped her face so she'd look at him.

"I-I'm sorry." She stuttered again, her eyes pink and puffy below the shadow of her bangs. _It should be raining_. Sam thought. But it wasn't- this day was bright and sunny it was only 4 p.m. and everything about this scene was crystal clear. The diamond on her finger reflected in the sunlight and into Sam's eyes, "Why couldn't you just talk to me, baby?" Emma saw a few tears splash on her hand, and they weren't hers.

Only for a moment Emma thought hard, how could she explain this to him? How did they get to Salvation anyhow? How she become what she had?

"I can't be saved."

* * *

November 24th, 1987

**Karen Gale Singer**

**Beloved mother, wife, sister, daughter**

**and friend.**

**September 16th, 1954- October 31st, 1987**

Physically speaking, the little girl in the plain black dress and the white hair was there. She was holding her fathers hand in silence while all of the adults and her brother cried, yet Emma was stoic and silent. She wanted to leave, she didn't want to spend time in this cemetery, she didn't want to wear black, she didn't want people to keep saying they were sorry- all Emma wanted was her Momma to wake up and sing her "You are my Sunshine" one more time. Bobby squeezed his kid's hand and looked down at her with blurry vision, but Emma didn't return the gesture or look up.

It made sense. Not speaking after what she had seen and heard, but it had been three weeks now… "It's okay, bud" Bobby comforted the sobbing boy in his arms, Robb was handling Karen being gone the opposite of his sister. He clung to Bob, he spoke too much, he cried and woke up screaming for Karen, he didn't understand. The concept of death couldn't work itself around his young mind, it didn't make sense.

Emma let her hand fall from her fathers and she began to walk away looking at her feet, her fathers eyes followed her- as did the eyes of every other attendee. Emma walked down towards the gates of the grave yard. "I- I'm sorry." Bobby apologized and went after her with Rob still in his arms. Karen's sister, Linda, watched Bob as he caught up with her, knelt down to her level, and held out his hand again. From the distance, all Linda could see was Robbie get down from his fathers arms and pull his sister into a tight and desperate hug. Then, she saw the three leave through the old black metal arch. That was the last time she would see the family of three for six months.

The man who had exorcised Karen waited for the small family at Bob's truck with their suitcases and a couple of happy meals. "Rufus." He and Bob shook hands and the kids climbed into the back seats of the truck wordlessly, Robbie still holding his 'technically' older sisters hand after they buckled themselves in. "I miss ya, Emmy." Rob mumbled, looked at her and sighed.

"I'll protect you, Robbie." Was all she could say before falling into silence again, it made Robbie smile, and that was what mattered to her.

Outside the car, Rufus and Bob were talking about what was happening; "And you're sure you want to do this Bobby?" Bob looked in the trucks window, Em and Rob were eating their fries now, Robbie with a smile and Emma with a frown. "I have to." Bobby replied. "Where we headed?"

"New Orleans" Rufus informed his new friend that he'd spent the last month teaching. "Well… lets go then."

* * *

July 13th, 2006

Emma paced outside Rosie's bedroom, never taking her eyes off the 6 month old baby. Emma's hands were shaking with her cell phone opened and clutched in her palm. What if something went wrong? What if her dad's final memory of her was one of pain and disappointment? That wasn't what she wanted, she didn't want him to think that she didn't care. Emma leaned against the wall just outside the door and slid down. She hit the number 2 and raised the phone to her ear, taking one deep breath after another.

After four rings, Bobby's voice was heard; ""Hello?"

"Daddy?" Emma asked, putting her free hand between her knees, not knowing what to do with it.

"Emma is that you?" She could hear the concern in his voice and was very, very tempted to hang up the phone and say 'fuck it' to this whole thing.

But instead she confirmed- "Yeah, it's me." with another shaky breath.

"Where the hell have you been?" Bob demanded, his voice gravely and holding something back she hadn't heard in him since what had happened to Robbie senior year.

"On the road… with John" Was as specific as she could bring herself to be. Bob and John hadn't been on the best of terms in recent years, so she really didn't even want to mention that part.

"What're ya calling me for then?" He asked, Emma's head fell again, that wasn't quite the response she had been expecting. He'd sounded as if he was disowning her, and again she felt sick.

"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry, Dad." She was apologizing more in this solitary day than she had in the rest of her 22 years.

"Oh." Bob breathed. "Well, why now? Are you in trouble, Emma?" He questioned, his tone now angry- Em wanted to know what was going on in his head desperately.

"No dad, I'm fine. I just…" She drifted. "I just miss you is all."

"Oh." He repeated. Em knew her dad had never been much of the touchy- feely type. "Well then you better get your ass back home to come see your old man." If this conversation had been face to face, she could have seen the tears prickling his eyes and him putting down the flask for the first time since his last visit to Palo Alto, California.

Emma laughed and smiled to herself. "I will get my ass home as soon as I can." she promised, mentally adding _if I make it through tonight_.

"Good." He cleared his throat. "Does Sam know?"

Em cleared her throat. "Uh, yeah. He's in the car just outside…" Em looked at the window, but she couldn't see out of it from her place on the floor. "C-can we not talk about Sam, Dad?"

Bobby took a deep breath and changed the subject for the time being; "Where are you idjits anyways?"

"Salvation, Iowa." Em stood back up, and looked around the nursery for any signs of sulfur.

"If you wanted, I could come to you, you could use all the help you can get your hands on." Bob offered, his way of saying _I want to see you- right now._

"Really, Dad, I'm fine. I'll be home soon." She lied.

"Balls." Dad cursed. "Emma, I'm your father and I know you a whole lot better than you think I do. I ain't no fool. Something's up and I will be there in the morning." Bobby snapped his phone shut and grabbed his car keys, he was gonna make good on his word.

Eventually Em got up from her place on the floor and sat on the pink rocking chair in the corner of the nursery, waiting and playing games of solitaire on her phone. An hour went by, then two. The longer this was taking the more her nerves were being pushed to the edge, Sam swore this was the house. That this was the kid.

Then, she made what she would later look back on as a foolish and rookie mistake. She went to the bathroom.

Emma's movements were slow and deliberate, she was afraid, for pretty much the first time in her adult life. After she washed her hands she made her way back across the hall and into the nursery. In the doorway she froze up, stopping mid step. The dark figure looming over the crib turned around, the yellow in his eyes flickering in the dark from the light given off of Rose's nightlight.

"Emma Singer." Azazel sang and gave a smile, he had known she was there and he timed this perfectly, where Sam and Dean weren't paying attention, where she'd be caught off guard. "You and John have been giving me a whole lot of problems." Azazel now faced Emma completely, turned away from the baby. Were Sam and Dean even watching the window?

"I didn't think I was important enough to be on your radar." Emma started to move slowly to the other side of the room, getting ready to bolt for the window. Azazel laughed. "I see someone doesn't know as much as she thinks she does." He taunted, that took Emma back, not only had she not expected it- but she didn't want to have anything to do with Azazel's plans for these kids. She stopped moving to the window, her curiosity bound to kill her one day. The demon knew his words would delay her. "Oh, come on now, Singer. I thought it would be a little harder to catch your attention." Azazel laughed. "You're supposed to be the stubborn, righteous one, aren't you?" Emma bit the inside of her cheek, wanting him to move further away from her mouth. "Ah, no that's Dean. You're the curious one, the feisty one."

"Why don't you just cut to the chase so I can gank you already?" She still hadn't pushed him back in fear that if she did, whatever he had to say wouldn't be told. Azazel clicked his tongue and wagged his finger. "Why don't you tone back that fire now?" For some reason, hearing that from him pissed her off, maybe it was because of what he'd done to her friends' mother. "I came here because I want to make a deal with you."

* * *

Early February, 1989

"It's shivering." Rob rubbed his arms trying to keep the heat inside of his jacket. There was a sickly looking ginger kitten sitting inside one of the salvage cars, he'd been putting open tuna cans in the car for a week now. This time, Emma caught him doing it. "Do you think Dad would let us bring Fluffy inside?" He questioned, knowing very well that giving Em the puppy eyes was going to get him his way. Emma crossed her arms and looked at the animal her brother had named 'Fluffy'. "It's snowing, Emmy! We can't leave her here." Robbie pouted.

"You did name her…" Emma looked at her brother. "But I'm blaming you if we get in trouble." She lied, both siblings knew well that Em was going to take the wrap; it's just what she always did.

"Kids! It's time to come inside!" Bob shouted from the doorway as Em opened the door and let the cat come to her. It took longer than she thought, but scaring Fluffy away would just get Robbie upset. "Now before you catch your death out there!" Bob called for them a second time. Emma picked up the kitten and stuffed it inside the pink jacket she was wearing, it wasn't the best option but they didn't have the time for the cat to get totally comfortable. "Thanks, Emmy." Rob smiled at Em as they walked back up to the house. There was a black car pulling out of the driveway, but they didn't put much thought into it.

Rob pushed the door open and tried to keep his teeth from chattering. Emma noticed the two strange boys standing in the living room first. "Who are you?" She scrunched up her nose and looked them over. Both were older than her, one not by much and the other by a lot. Its not so much minding having people over as it was that she needed to get the cat up to her room asap. Bobby cleared his throat. "Em, we've gone over this- manners."

Robbie on the other hand walked right up to the brothers and introduced himself. "Hiya, I'm Robbie and that's my twin, Emma." He shook the boy's hands. The taller, older one with the freckles and the green eyes spoke first. "I'm Dean, this is my brother, Sammy." Bobby watched the exchange, especially the discomfort on Dean's face.

"You boys make yourselves at home, your old man won't be back for a couple days." He explained. Bob had met Sam and Dean in passing before, and he knew more than anything that Dean wanted to be treated as an equal. He also knew John Winchester well enough to know that this 10 year old kid wasn't getting that with him around.

Meow. The five people standing in the room heard. Sam and Dean looked around confused- they hadn't seen a cat. Emma bit the inside of her lip and tried her best not to look guilty. "Now where could that be coming from." Bobby inquired kneeling down in front of Emma and looking her straight in the eye, which she averted. "We said no more strays." Bob sighed as Em unzipped her jacket and took Fluffy out.

"She was cold." Emma reasoned, placing her on the chair. "Can we keep her, Daddy? Please?" She pouted. "Please?"

Bobby looked over at his son who shared the same expression as Emma. "You can keep it until the snow clears out." Bob agreed sighing heavily. "Yes!" Robbie cheered and picked up the cat, kissing it on the head. "Well don't kiss it ya idjit" Bobby scolded, it probably had fleas or something. Bobby's comment got a small chuckle from Dean.

"Hey, do you guys want to play cards?" Emma suggested to the brothers with a smile, if they were going to be there for a few days she might as well make an effort to get used to them.

Sam spoke for the first time, looking at the girl; "Sure." He shrugged, making her smile. Emma grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs, leaving Dean standing awkwardly by Bobby not entirely sure what to do with himself, was he supposed to follow? He wanted to, but he also thought Sam needed to make a friend on his own… he didn't quite feel like hanging out with the kid and the cat either. "Wanna help me make some dinner?" Bob suggested, Dean looked at him confused for a moment.

"You want me to help you?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. He made dinner a lot for Sammy, but that was more spaghetti o's and microwaveable burritos. Also, adults never asked him for anything- they just expected him to do it or expected him to get out of the way.

"Yeah, why not." Bobby smiled through his beard. "Sloppy joe's tonight"

Dean smiled, but tried to play it cool. "Yeah, sure, I'll help."

Upstairs, Emma had pulled out a tin of poker chips and playing cards. "What are those?" Sam pointed the the multi colored discs.

"They're poker chips. Duh!" Emma sassed, putting her hand on her hip, then putting a deck together. She sat on the floor and shuffled, Uncle Rufus taught her to play so he could hustle suckers in bars. She was actually quite good- well, as good as a five year old should be. All she had to do was add to 21. An idiot could do it. "Isn't poker for grown ups?" Sammy asked the girl, Emma looked at him like he was a baby. Even though she was a year younger.

"Don't be a wimp, Sammy." She challenged. "Can you add?" She questioned, feeling proud that she could. Sam was intimidated by her, she reminded him a little bit of Dean… but more compact.

"Of course, I'm not stupid." Sam defended. Emma explained the game of 21 to him. Showing examples, telling them the values of the letter cards- incorrectly. It had been a while since she'd played, but she wouldn't admit to it, she would rather lie than be wrong. "Well what are we betting?" Sam asked.

Emma tilted her head, not knowing what he meant. "betting?" She questioned, Sam nodded- he'd watched Dean play kids at the arcade.

"Nothing? It's for fun." She told him, putting the cards down. "Don't you do anything for fun?" Emma asked him, Sammy shook his heads. Emma pouted. "Everyone needs to have fun." She noted, looking a little sad, but changed the subject. "So why are you guys here?"

"I don't know, guess my dad had some business nearby or something. We move a lot." He explained. Emma dealt the cards; "Well yall could stay here if you want!"

Sam shook his head. "Dean wouldn't like that" Em pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Sam looked at her and decided that maybe she wasn't all bad. Maybe the next few days wouldn't be the death of him after all.


	2. Clueless

Renegade Glory

Chapter Two

Clueless

* * *

1998

Robbie was sitting in his dad's study behind the desk, volumes of dusty old books he'd yet to open stacked high in front of him, but he ignored the books and smoked his cigarette. Bob was out on a hunt all the way down in Louisiana, Rob knew it was important, Bobby never left him and his sister alone unless it was serious. With that being said, he was overly stressed out. Em got the lead in the schools play _Oklahoma!_ as a freshman- well, it wasn't _really_ the lead it was stepping in for the ballet number- but it was still a big deal for her. Rob couldn't figure out if his dad forgot or if he'd weighed his options or what but he knew that come time Em got back from brunch she wasn't going to be happy.

Rob took another drag.

Smoking at fourteen wasn't the best of habits, he knew that… but they don't call it an addiction for nothing. If Bob ever found out, Rob knew he'd be in for one serious ass-whooping.

_Maybe I should call Sam_. The thought crossed Rob's mind a second time. Sam was his best friend after all, if he could count on anyone it would be Sam. But would he really drive all the way up just for Em? Rob wasn't so sure, but it was worth the risk- the worst Sam could say was no, right? The more he thought of it the more he remembered that Sam had spent a lot of time with Em when he lived on the Salvage yard, so he had to have some fondness. So he picked up the phone and called the Winchesters, it didn't take long for Sam to answer. "Hello?"

"Sam, hey, it's Rob." He announced, forgetting for a moment that cell phones didn't have caller ID. "What's up?"

Sam replied; "Eh, just homework." sounding overly unenthused. "You?"

"Not much, can I ask a favor, man?" Rob put out the butt of his cigarette in the cut off bottom of a coke can. He really needed to clean up in here at some point, he knew dad and Em weren't gonna do it.

Rob heard Sam lean back in a pretty squeaky sounding chair. "Sure, what is it?"

Taking in a deep breath, Rob began to speak, he hated asking anyone for anything. "So, my sister got a big role in this play thing- kinda, it's a long story." He shook his head. "Look, my dad ain't gonna be around this weekend and I figure if you or Dean or someone could be here it might help… soften the blow?"

Sam sighed, "You know I'd love to be there for Em, but I'm in Madison, I don't know how I could get there- tell Em I'm sorry" He sounded guilt ridden. Robbie wouldn't tell Em though, there was no reason she had to know she got rejected twice. "Yeah, it's cool, I'll let her know."

"Oka-" Robbie heard some shuffling before he heard Dean's voice come into the conversation. "He'll be there." Dean informed Rob, he could hear Sam perk up in the background asking _'Really? How?'_ "Don't worry about it Sammy"

Rob smiled, not that anyone could see it. "Thanks, Dean."

"Anytime, we'll hit the road soon- Sam pack a bag." And then Dean hung up. Rob didn't know why Dean was so eager to get Sam over here but he really wasn't very worried about it because now four of the five people she wanted there were attending. Her best friend Millie Rose being the fourth- two peas in a pod they were. Ever since Mill's stood up for Em and Rob on the playground back in second grade, the two had been nearly inseparable. He still didn't feel like it was enough… Aunt Ellen and Jo were an option, but they had the Roadhouse they had to look after, so they were out. Other than that there was no one. He'd done all he could.

After a few hours of reading over the journals and three more cigarettes, Emma's ever-raspy voice came from the studies archway. "One of these day's Dad's gonna come home and walk into your usual cloud and I'm just going to laugh." She smirked and walked to the desk. "A coke can? Really Robbie?" She eyes his makeshift ashtray and shook her head.

"Shut up." He glared and flipped the page.

"Where's Dad anyways?" She asked taking off her jacket and tossing it onto a nearby armchair, Fluffy scampered off, letting Em know that she wasn't pleased… Bobby let them keep the cat. She was rather fat these days. Em muttered an "oops" under her breath. She and the cat never got on well.

Rob's face softened when he looked at her this time, remembering why he started smoking in the first place. "Look, Em-"

Cutting him off she grabbed a book off the top of the pile. "He's not gonna be here this weekend, is he?" She asked, flipping through the book for pictures. There weren't any, so she put it back in the pile. Rob was silent. "Got it, what do you want for dinner?" She quickly changed the subject, dealing with things just wasn't something she did. Keeping it in was easier.

Rob studied her face, her normal wide smile and bright eyes had returned as fast as he'd thought they'd gone- he would never understand how she did that, and he would also probably never know if she was upset. "I think all we have is tuna in a can and beer."

"How about we ditch the tuna, keep the beer and order some pizza, aye?" Em suggested. Rob was tempted to say something along the lines of 'how 'bout just the pizza' but instead he said; "Yeah, Em, whatever you want."

Rob knew deep down that his sister was gonna end up an alcoholic, when she had any feeling that wasn't positive, she drank- he couldn't blame her entirely though, that's just what they grew up with. Literally, every role model they had dealt with their problems by drinking- Dad, Ellen, John, even Dean now, she didn't know any better. "You wanna call it in, little bro?" Emma antagonized.

"By seven minutes" He reminded her, rolling his eyes and dialing the number he'd long since memorized for delivery.

Meanwhile, Sam and Dean threw a weekend bag into the trunk of Dean's hand-me-down Impala. John wouldn't be back for a week and Dean figured what John didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. Dean closed the trunk and climbed behind the wheel. "You still haven't told me why we're going." Sam noted as Dean started up the engine.

"You really haven't figured it out, Sammy?" Sam shook his head and Dean smiled slightly and gave a laugh. "You're as subtle as a bull in a china shop." Dean laughed again, liking the comparison. Sam's cheeks burned and he cleared his throat."I don't know what you're talking about." Sam claimed, Dean laughed again. If there was one thing Dean never did it was disobey John, he knew the consequences and Sam knew that Dean always followed the rules. With that being said, trying to wrap his mind around Dean breaking John's rules to help him win the girl was beyond him!

"You haven't stopped talking about this chick since you were eleven!" Dean pointed out, smirking. The opportunity had finally come for Dean to talk to Sam about this, to show him the ropes. Boy, had he been waiting for this talk a long, long time.

"It… I mean, no- I mean yes I have." Sam tried to deny the accusation, trying to keep a shred of dignity and be cool to his big brother, but when that tactic failed he tried to brush it off. "No, I don't talk about her that much." He squinted a little bit looking forward. "No" He reaffirmed himself.

Dean raised an eyebrow, but kept his eyes on the road knowing exactly the card he was going to pull next. "Should we talk about last time we were there?" Dean smirked, knowing he'd caught the kid. About a year ago, Bobby took the five kids to the Carnival. The fifth, of course, being Millie. Seriously, that girl might as well of lived on the salvage yard. Dean remembered walking by his brother and Emma at one of the supposedly impossible games and watching Sam win her a stuffed moose. It was terribly cliche, but it did earn Sam a kiss on the cheek, a night of holding hands, and sharing some greasy but tasty carnival food. Until literally two weeks after they'd packed up the Impala and hit the road, Sam would not stop talking about it.

"Shut up, Dean." Sam's cheeks burned and he shrunk slightly in his seat at the memory.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Do you want my help or not?"

"I don't need your help." It slipped before he could shut his mouth, he wanted the help.

"If I recall, not to long ago you were asking me how to talk to girls," Dean smiled, a strange sense of satisfaction seeping in. "If you want to go on a date, you need my help"

"I never said I wanted to date Emma"

"_Sam_" The back and fourth had been entertaining at first- but it was getting slightly excessive now.

Sammy let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, I want to date Emma" _Finally_. Dean thought.

"Good. So. Start by telling me what you like about her." He'd fully expected something along the lines of _she's so pretty, and a cheerleader and funny_. Yanno, something on the shallower side- but he should have known to expect more from Sam's hopeless romantic self.

"She makes me feel normal" Sam confessed. To him, he'd never spoken a sentence so true before. She was something of a saving grace, even without trying. "I'm not the freak with her?" Sammy continued, but he doubted his word choice. Dean hated when he called himself a freak. When Dean stayed silent, he continued. "She's so determined, and she doesn't let me be bored, and when she dances I just get lost and it doesn't hurt that she's_ beautiful_." It turned into ranting, in fact he could have kept going for ages, but something told him to just let it go.

"Well that's… not what I expected." Dean chuckled. He wasn't familiar with any of those feelings.

Sam rolled his eyes. "That's because you're as shallow as a kiddie pool"

"That hurts baby brother" Dean joked, knowing very well just how shallow he could be.

"But Its true." Sam defended.

"eh, a little" Dean shrugged "So, here's the plan. We're gonna pick up some flowers before the show, and even when its terrible- which it will be considering it's a bunch of kids- you're going to tell her it was great, got it?" Dean started, trying to put together a best possible scenario, he might go over the worst- but that might've put Sammy a little too far in the dumps to give him the confidence to do anything.

"But what if it's good?" Sam tired, he was convinced it would be great, because Emma was in it.

"Trust me Sammy, I've sat through one to many in hopes of…" Dean cleared his throat. "things. Just, trust me, it'll be hard to watch at times." Sam rolled his eyes at Deans lack of faith in other people. "Anyways, so I'm gonna let you talk to her alone- I'll get Robbie out of the way and-"

"No stop, I can't." Sam shook his head, _why did Dean have to talk about Rob_. He'd almost entirely forgotten that they were twins.

"What? Why?" Dean thought maybe Sam thought he was going to do something bad to Rob even though he just meant teaching the kid to drive or something like that.

"Robbie is like my brother, I can't date his sister- isn't that some kind of unspoken rule?" Sam inquired, not quite well versed in the bro code yet.

"I break the rules all the time, and look at me." Sam gave him one of those looks that just screamed 'are you kidding me'. "Okay bad example. You can't let him get in the way of what's gonna make you happy- besides, what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"That's what you keep telling me."

"Look, Sammy, I've watched you stare at her across rooms and blush when she says something as small as hi to you for four years now. Who know's, maybe if you kiss her you'll change your mind anyways." Dean reasoned.

"Has it really been that long?" Was all Sam pulled from what Dean had said, when he'd put it that way- it just seemed kinda pathetic.

"Yeah and it's pathetic. Your 15 now dude." And there Dean went, confirming what he feared.

But then Sam remembered something."You didn't date anyone when you were 15"

"Yes I did, you just didn't see it" Dean lied, he didn't even have his first kiss until he was 16… not that he'd ever tell anyone that.

"Sure." Sam rolled his eyes before they fell into silence.

* * *

Sam and Dean finally pulled into the Salvage yards lot at around six that night. Dean got out of the car and stretched, the layers covering his torso baring a sliver of skin for a moment. "You got the flowers, Sam?"

"Yeah" Sam nodded and grabbed the bag out of the trunk. Dean head to the front door needing to move around.

Pushing open the wooden monster, and using a booming voice to announce; "Honey, I'm home!" Em had been in her room, practicing until her steps were perfect. Anyone on the outside would say she'd reached that point hours ago, but she thought there was always room for improvement- and she needed to fill that space. When she heard the husky voice from the bottom of the stairs she nearly fell, catching herself in just enough time not to crack her head open on the side of her desk. She picked herself up, still in her floral long-sleeved leotard and ballet slippers and rushed down the stairs. Seeing the older Winchester brother made her smile, "Dean! what are you doing here?!"

"You think we'd miss your play kid? Never." Dean returned her grin and she gave him a sweaty hug. "Where's Sam?" Pleased that that had been the second thing out of her mouth, Dean smirked slightly, but not long enough for her to catch on to.

"He's just at the car" Dean informed her. Right on cue Sam came through the door behind his brother and dropped the weekender beside it. He looked up, and when he saw her his face lit up. She was overheated and glistening from exercise, her cheeks were red and her hair matted to her scalp- but he didn't care, he was near her again.

Em smiled, too. Sam was the same as ever. Just slightly shorter than she was, dimples prominent, a too big flannel and in desperate need of a haircut. Sam pulled out the flowers he was hiding behind his back, a bouquet of green and yellow wildflowers. Originally, he'd wanted to get roses- but he didn't want to give her the _right_ idea. Of course, Dean had suggested he go with the roses, too, but in the end Sam shy'd out and opted for something less romantic. "I got you- these are flowers- I- I got them, for you." The stuttering was excessive and resulted in him holding out the flowers awkwardly and blinking a few times. Never in his life had he felt so stupid- nor had he ever acted like that in front of her. She'd always made him so comfortable and it convinced him even further that maybe asking her to be his girlfriend wasn't going to be the right move. Yet, Emma smiled widely and gave a stifled laugh, taking the flowers from his hand unable to break the grin she'd begun because if she did she might break out into a fit of hysterics. Sams stutter was cute, but it was also funny as all hell. Dean shook his head standing behind the blonde and mouthed 'After the show, Sammy'.

Em moved a little closer to Sam, his heart rate picked up substantially. "That's really sweet, thanks." It was only a quick peck on his cheek but after the fact, Sam couldn't help staring. Emma noticed, but tried not to pay much mind to it. "I'm really glad you guys are here! Did Robbie call you or something?" Sam nodded, looking slightly unnerved, now Emma was concerned- was he going to be sick? "You okay, Sammy?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets and said with all of the confidence he could muster "Never better!"

She turned to Dean, "Seriously, is he okay?" Whatever all this was- wasn't her old friend. At all. Not in the slightest.

In an attempt to cover for Sam, who admittedly was acting stranger than Dean had ever seen he claimed that "he'll be fine." Honestly though, Dean didn't know. Was it even possible to like someone so much that they were rendered so near speechless? Never in his life had Dean suffered from second hand embarrassment- and he could say that proudly- that was until Sam leaned up to Emma and kissed her on the cheek a whole minute after the opportunity had passed him by. Dean raised his hand to his forehead, closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to pretend that maybe he didn't just witness that. Sam also closed his eyes for a second, like maybe that would erase his impulsive move and asking himself _why did i just do that?_ "oh, um." He mumbled when he opened his eyes to see Em's cheeks blushing, but for the most part it kind of just looked like she was okay with it. Which he was more than grateful for. "Yanno for for luck?" He didn't know if that made it worse or better, but it was going to have to do considering it had already come out of his mouth.

Em laughed a little, trying to make light. "Thanks Sam" She paused, thinking of something to get back the normal Sam. "Hey! do you want to watch the movie?" She suggested with all of the enthusiasm she could muster up.

"What movie?" Sam asked, she'd said "the" movie, so maybe it was Beauty and the Beast again… he'd only seen it 150 times now, what was 151 anyways?

"Oklahoma! Sam, the play? The movie version of the play." She explained, then it clicked. The whole reason he was here in the first place, he'd almost entirely forgotten

"Oh! uh yeah!" Sam lied, he didn't want to watch the movie at all- but he did want to spend time with her, so if the movie sucked he could just talk to her. Well, that was if his powers of speech ever returned to him. How was he acting so stupid? It was painful.

"Great," Never wasting any time, Em grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him upstairs, stopping briefly to wave back at Dean. "I bought it yesterday!" Her enthusiasm for this VHS was over the top, but seeing as over the top was a part of her personality, he didn't pay very much mind to it. The previously baby pink room got painted a mustard yellow, and all the furniture was pushed off to the sides to make room for dancing. Granted the floor wasn't all too clear, considering the contents of her closet was scattered about haphazardly. "I'm gonna go hop in the shower, I'll be right back." Sam took the opportunity to clean up a little as the movie rolled. He put all the clothing into the laundry basket that was now overflowing and put the furniture back in its correct place. It took about a half hour, so that was a half hour of not actually watching the movie that he was grateful for- this thing was filmed even before his dad was born and that was saying something. Since he'd ran out of things to do he sat down on the bed that had forever been used as a couch. Another 15 minutes went by before Em finally came back in her room with hair still dripping and her towel draped around her torso. It was nothing Sam hadn't seen before, they'd shared a room for nearly a year in the past. Em grabbed her pajamas and Sam looked away as she changed. Once she had, she reached under the bed and took out their snack stash and placed the box between them- Bobby hated food in the room so they'd taken special measures. "So are you okay for real?" Em grabbed a twizzler and propped her feet up onto his legs. He didn't mind in the slightest.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why would you think that I'm not perfectly fine?" Unlike Em, he opted for a small bag of smartfood.

"You're not acting like yourself. You seem uncomfortable." Em grabbed a handful from the bag before he had the chance to eat any himself. "I haven't seen you like this since I gave you stitches, and before that since we met" Sam scratched the back of his neck, shaking his head a little- he didn't have any reason besides nerves. Of course he couldn't tell her that what the nerves were over though. If he'd said he was nervous about asking her on a date he had an irrational fear that Em would just begin laughing at him. And honestly, he was contemplating just dropping the idea all together- what was wrong with the way they were now anyhow? Also the whole stitches comment caught him off guard. He'd tried so hard to forget about that day. They'd been playing a good old game of salvage yard baseball when Sam had cut his leg through his shorts against an exhaust pipe. To make a very long story short, there was quite a bit of blood, no Dean, no adults and they were too afraid to use the phone so Emma decided she'd just give him stitches. Which involved him taking his pants off. Which involved her touching his thigh. Which ended up causing a lot of embarrassment before pain set in.

"So who do you play in this thing?" Changing the subject was becoming quite the habit.

"Laurey, she's the blonde girl." Sam nodded and rested his hand on her leg- mostly because it was on his lap.

"There is a lot of singing in this" He noted taking a deep breath in and looking like he was far past done with the movie.

Em raised an eyebrow before muttering a sarcastic"Yeah, Sam, that's what happens in a musical." and then suddenly she felt anxious. "Do you not like it?" she tried to convince herself that his opinion didn't matter- but it did. It really, really did.

"No, no. I'm sure it'll be great!" He gave her a small smile, and then tried his absolute hardest to look even slightly interested. Looking at the screen, after a few minutes, that Laurey chick kissed some guy- His heart dropped when he realized it was during the ballet. Sam cleared his throat. "You're not gonna kiss someone, are you?" His voice sounded nervous, he couldn't conceal it despite his best efforts.

Em pressed her left index finger to her lips, shushing him with a small smile towards the end. "It's a secret, Sammy." It clicked, right about then, that Sam had feelings for her. "Why? You jealous?" She inquired- out of curiosity, she knew she could get away with it if she played it off like she was teasing him.

"Me, jealous?" He snorted. "Of you kissing someone? No, not uh, not at all" Sam played it 'cool'. "I mean, why- why would I be jealous? _You're like my little sister _or… something" He rushed out all too fast, but Em bought it. _Maybe I over reacted? Why would Sam like me anyways?We're like siblings, cousins at the least._ She thought and bit her lip, though she was able to recover quickly. If there was one thing that girl was good at, it was acting like nothing was wrong. She didn't really like the way that felt a lot of the time though. Especially with Sam, he was her confidant."Uh huh." She let out a sigh of disbelief and turned her television off. "How bout we don't spoil the ending." At this point, all she wanted to do was talk to him, figure out if her hunch was something she was going to have to worry about.

"Sounds like a good idea" Then he thought about it and changed his mind. It wasn't a good idea- sure, the movie was a little on the bad side- but now she was going to want to talk. Could he even? It couldn't be that hard, he'd done it for years! this weird bump he was in right now was only temporary, or so he hoped. Really, really hoped. Either that, or he might die of embarrassment and never speak to her again.

Em was never one to beat around the bush- in fact, she hated that _so much_ it made her want to kill people. Violently. As one would imagine, just because this topic was slightly more sensitive than others she phrased things only slightly more acceptable than she typically would have. "Sam, what's up with you. And don't change the subject, got it?" She pointed a stern finger at him. The subject change was unwelcome. Panic suddenly flooded the gates of Sam's consciousness. Did she have to ask that? Little did he know, it was far better than her original _dude, do you like me like me or something?_ He might've just left the room or something if she'd asked it that way. For once, she'd made a good choice.

_Come on, Sam, think of something. Think_. He cursed himself, closing his eyes for a moment to make the nerves go away. Just telling the truth would be easiest, he could do this. Until he made the decision to look at her eyes, that was. He just stared into those fathoms of blue that were richer than any ocean or any sky or galaxy. He desperately wanted to reach out and kiss her with everything he had, his heart was racing at a million miles an hour and his palms were sweating and he felt dizzy, suffering from a violent case of butterflies. The longer he looked at her eyes, her full, pink lips, her gold hair he felt the opportunity fading and his confidence diminishing. God, she was just so beautiful- she could never say yes to him. The freak. When it was just them, he forgot what he was and what she was. She was the cheerleader, the object of her schools affections, normal, happy, popular. He was the loser, the bullied, the new kid, the nerd, he felt so dark… he was a freak. So he decided not to burden her, he decided she would always be too good for him, he would hold her back. So he voiced other concerns, "I just… I feel bad."

"Why?" She inquired, _this is the part you say "for this" and kiss me!_

"About Uncle Bobby not being here, and I don't know how to act because of it." Sam lied, but he had convinced himself even as he said it. He watched Em pull her legs up to her chest and rest her head on her knees. _Now you've done it, dick._

"Oh.." The subtly crack in her quiet voice was all it took for Sam to never want to speak again.

"Sorry, I- I shouldn't have said anything." Sam scratched the back of his neck, how was he going to fix this one? If he didn't completely destroy her weekend already.

After letting out a heavy sigh Em spoke again. "No, no, I'm glad you did." She ran a hand through her hair and met Sam's eyes.

"Are _you_ okay?" Sam turned the situation around completely, and he hated himself for it.

"I'm always okay." Normally her front was so convincing even Sam forgot that it was just a facade. She could be bleeding out and she would still tell the world she was fine, she would hide it. It wasn't ever difficult to forget how broken this girl was, because she'd been faking for so long that even she believed it these days. Then she would give he sad little smile, the one where she blinked for just a moment too long because she knew her eyes were going to give her every secret away. "There are more important things than a high school play that I don't even have a line in." She argued, burrowing everything deep back into her mind and smiling genuinely.

"Just a 20 minute ballet, no big deal." Sam wanted her to talk.

"I said it's fine." Em nearly snapped, not quite- but pretty damn close.

"Okay, I trust you." Sam promised. A lot was running through Em's mind because of what he'd brought up, she didn't want to talk, but she needed _something_. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around Sam, burying her head in his neck and staying silent, he returned her embrace, rubbing her back with one hand, the other pulling her close to him. She was on his lap, but it didn't seem to matter or even be noticed for that matter. "You're not fine, are you?"

"No." He could feel her shake her head. "Does that make me like… obscenely selfish?" She questioned. It was how she felt, her dad was saving peoples lives, he was doing something good for the world. How could she be angry with him? Frankly, she couldn't be. But dissapointed? that was another story.

"It doesn't." Sam confirmed closing his eyes and kissing the top of her head out of habit. Her hair was still wet and it smelled like her strawberry shampoo. This wasn't the time for him to be weird, this was the time for him to comfort her- it wasn't something that needed to be done very often. So when she needed it, she _needed_ it. Feelings aside, she was one of his best friends. Then he remembered this was his fault for bringing her dad up, and he felt even worse. Emma had never shed a tear in front of him, or in front of anyone from what he'd observed. She didn't that night either. He was starting to think she was incapable, Robbie had even informed Sam a while back when he'd asked that Em didn't cry at their mothers funeral. Sam didn't know why, but it rubbed him the wrong way, like maybe she never really dealt with the death.

Tears were never needed with Emma though, her eyes and her silence were louder than any drop of water could ever dream of being. "Thank you for the flowers" She mumbled against his neck, untangling herself from him, he followed by example.

"They were Dean's idea."

She laughed a little bit. "Well you gave them to me, so I'm thankin' you, idjit." She was still on his lap and somehow it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable in the slightest. "If you tell Millie I said this, I will murder you in your sleep- but you're my best friend." Em confessed, giving him a small smile.

That was a shocking statement on it's own, especially because it came from her mouth. "More than Mills?" Sam's face had confusion written all over it, it was begging her to explain.

"In a lot of ways, yeah. Remember when you told me that you could talk to me in a way you could never with Rob?" Sam nodded, he remembered it well, actually. The night John picked him up from the Salvage Yard, he didn't want to go at all that night. Then again, he never wanted to leave this haven. "That's how I feel about you, too."

She was so close to him, there couldn't have been more than four inches between their lips. This was his chance, and he wanted to do it so badly. Little did he know, Emma's head was screaming at him to kiss her. She didn't want her first kiss to be an on stage kiss! She wanted it to be with him, with her best friend. Emma's face was hopeful, and so was Sam's. They both wanted it to be the opposite that made the first move, Emma even closed her eyes and leaned in a little. Sam cleared his throat, changing his mind when it was about to become real, remembering what he'd convinced himself of no more than five minutes ago. "I- Uh." he mumbled "thanks."

"I uh, only speak the truth." Em pushed her wet hair behind her ear and got off of his lap, sitting awkwardly far away, more mortified than she could ever remember being. Sam certainly didn't have feelings for her. She was his sister in his eyes. At least, that's what she convinced herself of.

The painful need for a subject change his Sam pretty quickly. "Where's Rob?"

"Went to go grab food, all we had in the house was tuna, pasta and beer." And man did she want that beer right about now.

"Sounds about right." Sam noted, "Isn't he running late?"

Em shook her head and her expression changed to one of anger. "No, he also went to hang out with this group of dick bags that buys him his cigs and pot and whatever else they get their hands on." She seethed. "I just can't believe how dumb he's being. I've spent my whole life making sure he's okay and now he's pulling this shit! I can't be everywhere at once and I can't talk him out of anything…" For a moment, Sam thought he might finally see a tear. But it passed just as soon as he'd seen it brewing. Robbie was what she cared about, more than anything. He always seemed to think that he was the one looking out for her- but everyone knew how it was. Emma was the one who talked to teachers so he could get out of detention, she was the one who talked him out of being taken into to the sheriffs office, she was the one that made sure that the bullies got off his case, and she was the one that kept him out of their possessed mothers path, made sure he got tucked in and that the nightmares would end. She was the protector, but she would let Rob believe whatever he needed to. She didn't matter, Rob did. "I wish you and Dean lived with us again."

"Me too."

"Seriously though, Rob was so much better with you here. Now he's just… I don't know how I can help him." Her thought process told her that having Dean and Sam around steadily would help him in ways she couldn't. Having good friends instead of those sorry excuses for drug dealers.

"Maybe he doesn't need helping?" Sam suggested, and you would have thought he'd just told her that someone pissed in her applejuice.

"You did not just say that."

"Look, Em, you've got to realize that he's his own person." Sam started and watched as her face fell and felt the need to explain. "He's started hunting." He reminded her. Both she and Rob were trained to hunt, but Rob was the one to put practice into action. With Em, Bobby only trained her as a precaution, to make sure she could protect herself. Robbie on the other hand drew the short end of the stick, he went out with his dad, he'd killed monsters and it ate at him constantly. "Dean deals with it in his own way, I do too. Rob just needs to figure this out for himself, you know?"

Even if she knew he was right, she couldn't just let it go. She wanted Sam to talk to him, to help him with this the way she couldn't. "Well, how do you deal with it?"

Sam bit the inside of cheek and let out a breath. "In a lot of different ways. At first I was just overwhelmed, I cried a lot when I thought no one was looking." He remembered when he'd found dad's journal, how angry Dean was with him at first. He remembered trying to be cool, but really spending the whole night lying awake. "Finding out there are monsters is one thing, and I didn't even handle that well." He reminded her. He'd been so angry with her, too, when he'd told her about his findings was 'I know'. He couldn't wrap his mind around why she would keep something like that from him, only to find out that she'd kept it from Robbie, too. "But staring one down is another…" Again, Em didn't understand, she'd stared one down that wore her mother's face when she was four.

This wasn't about her though, so she kept the focus on Sam. "What do you do now?"

Sam's nerves returned and he didn't know if he should say anything or if he should just lie. "I… honestly?"

"Generally." Sam knew she'd want honesty, but he wasn't too keen on giving it.

Hesitantly, he admitted;"I think of you." Em's head cocked to the side… was he serious?

"Me?" She asked with her eyes slightly wider than normal, Sam nodded."Why me?" Something about it she just couldn't wrap her head around.

"I don't know, you're my anchor." He almost reached out for her hand, but restrained himself. "You just kinda show up in my mind when I need to get away."

"Thats…" Struggling to find words, she drifted unable to make contact. What he was saying weighed heavily in her mind. Never in a million years would she have guessed she was important to anyone, let alone that important.

"Robbie will find an anchor, he'll figure it out. Trust me." Not that he could say that for sure, really, he was just kind of hoping he was right.

But Emma's mind was elsewhere. She'd heard him, but what he'd said just before that was in the forefront. "I'm not special, Sam." He was probably the only one who knew her well enough to realize that she wasn't fishing for compliments. She was caught off guard and touched by his words, and she didn't understand why he felt the way he did.

He thought about how to phrase what he wanted to say and came up short, but he knew he had to say something. He wasn't going to tell her why she was special, that would just come out odd and desperate. So he settled on something simpler and more effective. "Maybe not to you, maybe not to anyone at school if thats how you see it, but you've always been special to me."

Emma smiled looking down and blushing. "You always know what to say. How do you do that?"

"Unlike _someone_ I know, I think before I speak." For the most part. Not all the time. Definitely more than she did.

"Eh, what fun is thinking?" She joked "I like to be just as surprised by what flies out my pie hole as everyone else." sticks out her tongue. "It means a lot though, honest. You being here."

"I'm glad Dean said yes to driving here, then. Well, I mean, I would've been glad regardless, but I'm especially glad that-"

"You don't always think before you speak, Sam." Emma gave a smirk.

"Shut up."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I need to sleep."

Sam glanced down at his watch. "It's 9 o'clock?" He and Dean were lucky to go to bed by 1 a.m.

"And? I'm getting up at 6 to go to breakfast with Millie and Aunt Linda! Wanna come?" She invited him with a wide smile.

"To- to bed? Or to breakfast?" Sam cursed himself, _of course she meant breakfast you dumbass!_

Emma shrugged "Both." It didn't really make a difference to her.

"Yeah, sure. Both is good." Her lack of a preference had caught him off guard and made him awkward once again. Em got up and turned the VCR off which she'd forgotten to do earlier.

"Your bed's still in Rob's room." She reminded him, Sam closed his eyes embarrassed. _Of course she didn't mean in here- what's wrong with you, Sam._

"Alright, I'll head-" She cut him off as he started to stand.

"But you probs don't want to do that, it reeks of pot and ball sack and he won't want to be waking up at six. Stay in here." She suggested, it's not like he'd never spent the night in the room with the mustard colored walls. In fact, he used to share it with her. But back then any feelings were strictly platonic.

"You sure?"

"My dad aint home and it's not like we're… yanno, like Dean. Why not?" Sam's eyes widened a little bit. He didn't think she would bring up sexual encounters. At all. Just no. He gaped for a minute. Emma wasn't thinking like that. Maybe she wanted to cuddle or whatever but that was because Millie had been talking about it and she was curious. Her mind wasn't in a place that said there was any obligation for anything at all.

"Won't Robbie not like that?" Sam reminded her.

"Robbie won't care." She pulled her comforter down. "Besides, you've slept in here 100 times, what's with the fus?"

"Alright, lemme go get changed then." Sam pointed to the door and backed towards it as she nodded. When he knew he was out of eyeshot he rushed down the stairs. "Dean, what do I do?!"

"What? you kiss her? Ask her out?" Dean smiled, wiggling his eyebrows. It wasn't quite according to plan but hey, if it worked it worked.

"Well no…" Sam drifted and shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Didn't feel right, not the problem."

"Then what's the problem?" Dean crossed his arms over his chest, his beer still in hand.

"She wants me to sleep in her room?" Dean laughed, not a real hearty one more of a literal sounding HA.

"So? you used to share a room."

"yeah, but she's like… and we're… what do I do?!" Sam was half hoping Dean would say "just tell her know and crash on the couch' but thats not what he said at all.

"I don't know, just don't get a boner. Well, don't let her know if you have one I guess is a little more useful." Dean took a sip of his beer.

"Dean" Sam stressed. "I'm being serious."

"So am I. If you don't want it to be awkward, don't let on somethings wrong." Dean genuinely thought the answer was obvious.

"_Dean_."

"_Sam_" Dean mocked. "You asked for my help, I'm helping. Don't be a bitch, bitch."

"Jerk." After Dean walked away and changed into a tee shirt a pj pants before going back upstairs. When he did, the lights were out and she was already sound asleep and drooling into a pillow, the stuffed moose he'd won her pulled into her side. He smiled and climbed under the covers, carefully staying on his half until he passed out.

* * *

Nerves were going to break him. Sam had gone backstage, and he had a plan to ask her on a date after the show. Each step he took lurched his stomach, but he had to just get it over with. When he found her she was surrounded by four other guys all older than him, seniors actually. "I dunno, Tim… You really want to add the kiss?" Emma taunted, flirting shamelessly and batting her eyelashes.

"Um. Yes." The one Sam guessed was Tim replied. Sam just narrowed his eyes at him.

"I second that only if i get one too." One of the others commented.

"Hey, Em." Sam entered the conversation with his hands stuffed into his pockets. Timmy and Kit waved at him, Emma smiled. "I just wanted to tell you to break a leg." Sam lied and smiled a little awkwardly, a nervous laugh escaped. It was the cutest thing Em had ever seen and she smiled a little wider. "Not literally, because well. you need those… You- you know what I mean." Embarrassed, Sam shut his eyes tightly, maybe thinking he'd disappear or something- obviously he didn't. He stayed put. "You look really pretty." _God, Sam, stop talking._

Kit raised an eyebrow, not recognizing the freshman with the bowl cut. "This a friend of yours, Em?"

"Only the best." Em smiled without acknowledging her peers. She hopped off the table and walked over to Sam, pulling him into a hug. "Please don't kiss them." Sam whispered in her ear as they embraced, not at all liking the sound of her conversation with the two seniors. In his head he'd built up this whole vision of her first kiss- and obviously it wasn't supposed to be with some guy Dean's age on a stage and_ in front of him_. No, her first kiss was supposed to be with him after he took her on a date and dropped her off at her room. It was supposed to be sweet and soft and it was supposed to let her know how he really felt. But he just couldn't spit any of that out.

Again Emma hoped for a moment that wasn't going to come, another perfect opportunity for Sam to make a move came and went. Maybe, she was wrong after all, this was the 4th time in two days where he proved this was nothing more than friendship. The problem was- now that she'd thought about it all night and day- she wanted to be more than just friends. Even though it was only a crush, it wasn't any of that Disney princess love at first sight thing… More like Cher and Josh in Clueless.

The hug lingered, Em pulled away while Sam's hands fell to her waist. They looked into eachothers eyes for a moment, Em looking down at him. She wasn't that much taller, only a couple inches but it was enough that she had to look down at him. "We'll see, Sam." Emma winked, back to playful. She went walk back to her group, "Em, wait." He looked her in the eye for a moment. Then came the word vomit. "Can I kiss you?" Sam blushed profusely after it slipped. Em bit her lip, about to say yes. "Em, you're on in five! Come on!" The director came back and pulled her away from Sam without her so much as looking back. Sam stood there for a moment shocked and trying to figure out how his filter crashed and burned so badly and also violently was wishing it hadn't. _What was she gonna say?_

Absolutely, the worst possible outcome of his question was that one. No definite no. No definite yes. He made his way back to his seat and hid his face behind his coat, trying to hide his red cheeks from Dean… how could he have messed up that bad?

When Emma took the stage he couldn't even focus, he was afraid she'd catch his eye or something and he might just die. When he did look, most of it was flawless and beautiful, a few missteps here and there but it wasn't too noticeable. Not until the end at least. Em had performed the dance six times this morning and he knew that she wasn't supposed to be on the ground. To someone who didn't know the choreography, they wouldn't know the difference because she made a smooth, improvised transition. Sam caught it though, and he also caught her limping the second she thought she was behind the curtain. "That's not good." Millie muttered under her breath beside him. They were thinking the same thing, tonight is not going to be fun.

When the curtain call came, they noticed there was a lack of gold hair. "Shit." Sam heard Rob curse over the applause. They all knew she'd walked home, after all home was only a mile away.

She was icing her ankle in bed when they got home, Sam, Robbie, and Millie went to her room and found her sitting in silence. "I screwed it up." She mumbled when she heard them in the doorway, she was so _angry_ with herself. Her ankle would heal seeing that it was nothing more than sprained, but she still embarrassed herself in front of everyone she knew.

"We didn't even notice, Em. It was beautiful." Sam attempted, Em just shook her head.

"Yeah, you and Tim "the hunk" Hudson were the only redeeming factors" Mills added onto Sam.

"I second that" Robbie agreed.

"You're obligated to say that, idjits." Emma laughed, people were there now- it was time to be normal again. Despite still having the overwhelming feeling to go hide in a hole because of earlies Sam went over to the bed and sat beside the girl he felt so much for, pulling her into a side hug. "Movie night? I'll even sit through your Disney stuff, even though there is _so much singing_." He joked.

"That's true love right there, Em." Mills pointed to Sam, knowing very well both of their feelings and enjoying watching their faces heat up thoroughly.

"What do you say?" Robbie encouraged.

"Y'all are the best and someone needs to put in the Little Mermaid and pop some popcorn, stat." Just like that, it seemed like she was over it. Millie popped in the movie, Rob grabbed the popcorn and no one brought the show up again. Emma spent the night curled up with Sam, trying to let him know that she was going to say yes without saying so because her brother was sitting right there. Sam didn't get the memo, but he wasn't arguing the hand holding or the closeness. They fell asleep like that, tangled up in each other with Sam just being grateful she didn't kiss Tim- which he'd almost entirely forgotten. Knowing she didn't kiss him made Sam smile, it made him think somewhere deep down she didn't because of him.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Finally updated! You'll have to excuse the hiatus- I've been working 50 hr weeks and going to school! Hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently in the upcoming months! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and followed and favorited, I live for that stuff! **


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